What current political leaders do you see as examples of good leaders? Personally, I do not
see many as leaders. If you ask them about their position on a topic, they knock their opponent’s position on the topic. That’s just like asking my six-year old granddaughters what’s going on (when they are obviously fighting), and they BOTH respond with what the other one has done wrong. Are the future leaders of our country any better than first graders?
That is why John Maxwell wrote his latest book. It is entitled High Road Leadership, subtitled, Bringing People Together in a World that Divides. He purposely wrote this for an election year. It also applies to many other situations going on in my world as well. Not all of them are political.
We don’t always have to agree….
John’s book looks at High Road Leadership characteristics and compares them to what a person might do as a Middle Road Leader and a Low Road Leader. The first characteristic on the list is about Valuing Others (compared to Seeking Value from Others or actually Devaluing Others). Granted, we are all able to have an opinion and a perspective. And honestly, we do not have to agree. In fact, sometimes, we have to agree to disagree. So, I sometimes try to chuckle to myself (so as not to anger the other person unnecessarily), when I’d much rather get hot under the collar, when the person makes the claim, “we agreed to this.” No, we did not agree to this, you had your opinion, and I disagreed, and you knew I disagreed because I proceeded to do as I planned.
MSHUAD
This brings up the communication acronym I’ve developed - MSHUAD. I won’t get into all the details, but the U is for Understood, and A is for Agreed. In other words, What is Said is Understood and what is Understood is Agreed. This is especially important when a signature is involved, lol.
Closing the Gap…
Another High Road Value characteristic is to Close the Gap. Middle of the Road leaders live in the Gap; and Low Road Leaders Take More than they Give. We have likely all experienced people who take more than they give. We don’t usually look forward to being around them any more than we have to.
I am not in any way trying to suggest that I am perfect. If you’ve followed me much before, I have admitted to a strong desire for excellence that at one time or another, I have confused with a strive for perfection, which is more than simply excellence. I now like to think of myself as a recovering perfectionist. I don’t think that I will ever not be able to refer to myself in that manner. I admit that I do like things done to a high level of excellence that does border on perfectionism.
For example, we are coming off of a pretty significant home remodel; and I certainly have struggled in this area…..some with my own work of baseboards and shelving/brackets; and some with the work hired out to those that make some of this work their profession. I am learning to accept some of the work as the best that I can do, as well as the best that they can do. I am living with some of it; and taking steps to improve areas that could use a little more attention to make a significant difference.
Getting back to the High Road Leadership…
This brings me to the third characteristic that I’ll discuss which is to Return to the High Road to Correct Low-road or Middle-Road Behavior. Looking from the perspective that many function more in the Middle Road, a person of this type wants to correct their mistakes and get back to the High Road. Those that tend to function in the Low Road arena tend to stay on the Low Road, and frequently make excuses. It’s interesting to note that someone’s lack of progress is frequently excused based on someone else’s performance. They do not take responsibility for themselves. Actually, it’s less than interesting, it's really very disappointing.
Again, by no means am I perfect. I am using this book to both evaluate my own performance, and then level up my own performance so I can focus on high road leadership. This includes valuing all people, giving more than I receive, and returning to the high road whenever I find myself falling short. This is only a starting point to improving my own leadership.
If you are looking for opportunities to grow your leadership, reach out to me, and we can begin a deeper study in this area.
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